Virginia voters will be required to show ID at the polls

Voters will be faced with several changes when they go to cast their ballots during the Nov. 6 general election.

Gloucester’s general registrar Bobbi Morgan said due to changes in the law, a form of identification is now required to vote.

"Before, if you had no ID, you signed an ‘Affirmation of Identity’ and voted normally," Morgan said. "Now, you have to vote a provisional ballot and provide the registrar’s office a copy of your ID by noon of that Friday after the election for your vote to count."

Morgan said acceptable forms of identification include the following: A Commonwealth of Virginia Voter Registration card, social security card, valid Virginia driver’s license, any other identification card issued by a government agency of the Commonwealth, any valid student identification card issued by any institution of higher education located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, any valid employee identification card issued containing a photograph of the voter and issued by an employer of the voter in the ordinary course of the employer’s business, a copy of a current utility bill, a copy of a current bank statement, a copy of a current government check, a paycheck that shows the name and address of the voter or a concealed handgun permit.

In Gloucester specifically, Morgan said absentee voters will see a change. "During the presidential election in 2008, the lines for absentee voting in our office were down the hall, down the stairwell and out of the building," Morgan said. "Our office is not set up as a polling location and is therefore more difficult to handle the flow of incoming and outgoing voters."